Blog Posts

November saw the release of a new album from Midlake (of Denton, Texas) and it marked not only the release of a new album for the band, but a new configuration, as they parted ways with former vocalist and lead, Tim Smith. Seven minus one equals six, there’s no denying, but less is often more… Read more »

The Static Chicken began their weekly Tuesday performances at Milwaukee’s Jazz Estate on the East Side “700 Tuesdays ago”. Those 700 Tuesdays have now come and gone for the Chicken as they celebrated their final Tuesday night Estate gig this past New Year’s Eve. The Jazz Estate, currently owned and operated by Brian Sanders, will… Read more »

Depending on who you are, Dogs In Ecstasy is either a band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin or a Twitter account ready for a book deal. The band is a vehicle for songs drawing on great works by the USAISAMONSTER, Weezer, The Breeders and Sparks, and explores characters (real and imaginary), objects (useful and stupid) and facts… Read more »

Newbie west coast pop band, Dresses’ debut album title, Sun Shy is just the title one might expect from a sweet pop band from one of the rainiest and grayest parts of the country, but the songs are undeniably un-shy and sun-laden with assertive sweetness melting from the voice of Timothy Heller (the girl in the… Read more »

Surgeons in Heat are Milwaukee’s newest rockers vying for attention in a saturated scene, and, they should likely get it, playing show after show, sharpening their stage presence and gaining new fans with each performance. The trio of Ryan Rougeux, Johnathon Mayer and William Schultz have a bunch of shows lined up and don’t plan on… Read more »

James Chance, the former Milwaukeean with various monikers (his birth name is James Siegfried, but he was also known as James White), was an important figure in the genre of No Wave, adding his jazz saxophone background and experience into his music of choice, art-punk, in the late ’90s in bands such as Teenage Jesus & the… Read more »

For many musicians, certain time periods and genres of music really hit home and never leave the ‘favorites’ section. Whether it’s old-school swing, 50′s rockabilly or 70′s punk, paying homage to a specific sound while giving it a new revamping is an age-old way to discover new sound without alienating an audience stuck on a… Read more »

So. There’s a new band that’s been ushered into the Sub Pop fold. And they’re from Milwaukee. If you’re immersed somewhat in the local music scene, you might have heard that local band Jail (from now on, ‘Jaill’ for legal reasons) has signed to the west coast grunge and indie pop label monarch, Sub Pop Records (the announcement… Read more »

Chicago artist/musician [Dianogah] Jay Ryan’s silkscreen print shop The Bird Machine churns out poster magickry as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Storybook scenes, odd animals and creatures peep out of the corners of posterboard etched with the names of notable indie bands such as Death Cab for Cutie,Andrew Bird, Mudhoney, the Sea and Cake, Low and Built to Spill make Ryan’s work both eye-catching and dream-inducing. Milwaukee… Read more »

WMSE pledge drive time is prime time for special events, performances, interviews and the like and Thursday nights mean listening to either the music stylings of WMSE DJ Jules or Radio Drill Time (featuring radio magickry by WMSE Station Manager Tom Crawford and local Bus Stop Label owner, Brian Kirk). Tonight, Radio Drill Time brings us the man behind the… Read more »

With a gravely grasp on folk vocals much like Dylan, himself, Bostonian Chris Smither takes his cues from the range of Mississippi John Hurt and Randy Newman. Smithers’ best-known songs “I Feel the Same” and “Love You Like a Man” have both been covered by Bonnie Raitt. Raised in New Orleans, Smither moved to Boston in the 60′s to pursue music… Read more »

The CMJ Music Marathon. It has so much of New York wrapped around it, that sometimes it’s easy to forget the other cities in between, far and wide, who are generously sharing their hometown bands for this week of college radio hoopla and showcases. Milwaukee is one of those cities. This week, CMJ sees locals such as… Read more »

Just shy of fifteen minutes (that’s 2:15 p.m.), all the way from Little Rock, Arkansas,Chris Denny and the Natives will be showcasing their tightly-honed twang and sweet squalor over the airwaves on Dori’s show. The band is en route to the Turner Hall Ballroom for a performance tonight at 7 p.m. — part of their Daytrotter Barnstormer tour which is FREE… Read more »

“Pete Zimmer, 29, has learned his New York lessons well, as his dry tone, meaty swing beat and subtle accents make him an old hand” said Down Beat of the young jazz percussionist’s 2008 performance on Chillin’ Live @ Jazz Factory. Zimmer made an appearance today on Dr. Sushi’s Free Jazz BBQ (Tuesdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.)… Read more »

Upcoming Events

WMSE is the official sponsor for the Oriental Theatre’s, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Taking place the second Saturday of each month, the next showing is Sept. 10. The longest-running midnight movie of all time... Read more »

Tune into WMSE to catch legendary punk rockers, Bleed, before they reunite to play the Mama Tried show afterparty on Saturday, February 24th at the Rave. Bleed will roll out some old classics and some... Read more »

WMSE Presents – “Fire in February”: A Residency with Abby Jeanne, Every Monday night in February, Company Brewing will open its doors for its first-ever residency. Each night Abby will perform and share the stage... Read more »

Dorth Nakota are just a group of friends that always talked about doing something together. After past bands broke up, they started hanging out and playing music for fun, not looking to do much until... Read more »